How Do You Make Content Easier to Skim?

Many people start reading an article by skimming it. Say that they typed in the relevant keywords and found a page that looked like it would answer their question or give them the information they’re searching for. But all they really know is that the keywords worked. The site was optimized for those keywords. Does that necessarily mean that the article is worth their time to read? In a perfect world, sure, but they know that it may not actually give them what they’re after. They’ll skim it to get a better idea of what to expect, then go back and read things a bit more in-depth.

So, with all of that in mind, how can you make content that is easy to skim? Let’s consider a few different options.

Use Clear Headlines

One thing you can start with is breaking up your sections with H2 headlines. Each headline should give a clear and concise idea of what is presented in the following paragraph. After all, many people are looking for specific information. Your entire page may contain a lot of valuable info., but they’re only searching out that one key point, and they need to know that it’s there. Headlines help them see the basic design of the article quickly and can show them where to read more thoroughly.

Use Lists

List-based articles, or Listicles, are very popular. They help to break up the text in the same way that headlines can. Each list item provides a different set of information. The reader does not have to wade through massive blocks of text, but can simply skim and then scroll to the proper list item. You can also use shorter lists within your paragraphs, which again breaks up the content, allowing readers to quickly get the main points.

Put Highlights at the Top

One tactic that news agencies sometimes use is to add highlights to the beginning of the post. Journalism requires a certain level of dense and complex writing to really dig into each topic. But, to help people get started, they put a list of story highlights in its own box at the beginning of the story. Readers can hit those highlights quickly, telling them what to expect and perhaps engaging their interest so that they read more.

Consider Your Goals

Overall, you need to clearly identify your goals for the content. Then use text, pictures and white space in a way that makes the articles easy to read quickly, giving maximum value to the reader. We specialize in content creation here at Content Customs, so we’d be glad to help with anything you need.